92 Decision Citation: BVA 92-08990
Y92
BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420
DOCKET NO. 92-54 393 ) DATE
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THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the
veteran's death.
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
Thomas A. Pluta, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active service from September 1942 to
October 1945. He died in November 1986, at the age of 66.
The appellant is his widow. This matter came before the
Board of Veterans' Appeals (hereinafter the Board) on appeal
from a June 1991 rating action of the Newark, New Jersey,
Regional Office (hereinafter RO) which denied entitlement to
service connection for the cause of the veteran's death. A
notice of disagreement was received in November 1991. A
statement of the case was issued in December 1991, and a
substantive appeal was received subsequently that month.
The appeal was received and docketed at the Board in January
1992. The appellant acts as her own representative in this
matter. The case is now ready for appellate review.
REMAND
The appellant contends, in effect, that the cerebral
hemorrhage, hypertension, and depression which caused the
veteran's death were proximately due to or the result of the
veteran's wartime combat experiences in service. She
asserts that the veteran appeared withdrawn, depressed, and
fearful after separation from service, and suffered
recurrent nervous breakdowns post service until his death.
She states that psychiatrists diagnosed the veteran to be
suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder during his
lifetime. The appellant has furnished the names and
addresses of many of the veteran's medical providers during
his lifetime, but these records have not been presented or
secured.
The VA has a duty to assist the appellant in the development
of facts pertinent to her claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(a);
38 C.F.R. § 3.103(a). The United States Court of Veterans
Appeals has held that the duty to assist the appellant in
obtaining and developing available facts and evidence to
support her claim includes obtaining medical records to
which she has referred. Littke v. Derwinski, U.S. Vet. App.
No. 89-68, slip op. at 4 (December 6, 1990). The full
development of the medical evidence of record is
particularly important in a case such as this, involving the
presumed loss of the veteran's service medical records in a
fire years ago at the National Personnel Records Center, and
the fact that the veteran's current claims folder is a
rebuilt one, the original having been lost. Under the
circumstances of this case, we are of the opinion that
additional assistance is required. Accordingly, the case is
REMANDED to the RO for the following:
The RO should obtain and associate with
the claims folder copies of all records
of treatment of the veteran by the
following medical providers: The
Elizabeth General Hospital, Elizabeth,
New Jersey; the Saint Elizabeth Hospital,
Elizabeth, New Jersey; the Summit Medical
Group, Summit, New Jersey, in particular,
records of treatment by a Dr. Edgar; the
Saint Barnabas Medical Center, 685 High
Street, Newark 2, New Jersey, in
particular, records of treatment by
Drs. Chernus and Kocs; Dr. E. Kaney,
225 Holland Road, South Orange, New
Jersey; Dr. L. Pollack, Morris Avenue,
Union, New Jersey; Dr. R. J. Baruch,
230 West Jersey Street, Elizabeth, New
Jersey; the VA Hospital, East Orange, New
Jersey, in particular, records of
treatment by Dr. Butler; and the
Hackettstown Community Hospital, Warren,
New Jersey 07863, including the report of
the veteran's terminal hospitalization in
November 1986.
Following completion of this action, the RO should review
the evidence and determine whether the appellant's claim may
now be granted. If not, she should be furnished an
appropriate supplemental statement of the case, and the case
should be returned to the Board for further appellate
consideration.
BOARD OF VETERANS' APPEALS
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20420
*
(Member temporarily absent) D. W. DATLOW, M.D.
C. W. SYMANSKI
*38 U.S.C. § 7102(a)(2)(A) (1991) permits a Board of
Veterans' Appeals Section, upon direction of the Chairman of
the Board, to proceed with the transaction of business
without awaiting assignment of an additional Member to the
Section when the Section is composed of fewer than three
Members due to absence of a Member, vacancy on the Board or
inability of the Member assigned to the Section to serve on
the panel. The Chairman has directed that the Section
proceed with the transaction of business, including the
issuance of decisions, without awaiting the assignment of a
third Member.
Under 38 U.S.C. § 7252 (1991), only a decision of the Board
of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals. This remand is in the nature of
a preliminary order and does not constitute a decision of
the Board on the merits of your appeal.